From the archives
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The MP notes
NIO staff provided frank assessments of seven of the province’s newly elected parliamentarians in 1983 and made some forecasts for…
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Thinking outside the box
A 1983 working document for the New Ireland Forum called for a more positive vision from unionism but also questioned…
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Dealing with Homelessness
Charities and officials disagreed over how to tackle homelessness in 1984 with the voluntary sector being accused of self-interest. Many…
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Stormont’s potential praised
In an assessment of the 1982-1986 Assembly, the DUP appeared to dismiss Northern Ireland’s influence at Westminster and point to…
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Lignite developers ‘misled’ NIE
Misleading prices and a poor grasp of technology undermined the case for a lignite gasification plant in the early 1980s.…
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Irish schools programmes proposed
A 1979 paper shows that Irish was strongly taught in Catholic post-primaries but the BBC was reluctant to roll out…
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Analysing Maskey’s win
Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey became the party’s first councillor in Belfast since the 1920s when he won a by-election in…
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James Prior’s Assembly attempt
Secretary of State Jim Prior attempted to restore devolution by setting up an Assembly with limited powers in 1982. Peter…
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How Northern Ireland’s archives work
agendaNi sums up the process for handling public records and the forthcoming change from a 30-year rule to a 20-year…
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Humphrey Atkins’ brief from 1979
Peter Cheney examines the brief for Mrs Thatcher’s first Secretary of State, Humphrey Atkins, who arrived in 1979. Despite the…
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